Grey Squirrel

In the morning before we left the visitors moorings at Westport Lake I had a wander with the camera.  I was expecting a shot either of the lake itself or some of the birdlife.  However I couldn't resist this shot of a Grey Squirrel posing just a few feet away.

I am not enamoured of Grey Squirrels they do lots and lots of damage in forestry plantations and they are almost single handedly destroying the UK population of our Native Red Squirrel.  Greys are an introduced species and they brought with them Squirrel pox a disease Reds have no resistance to.  As greys spread the reds disappear.

Soon after we set off we arrived at Harecastle Tunnel's southern entrance.  We had just missed a convoy so had one and a half hours to wait.  The Katkatkat steered Solace through the 2582 m of the tunnel, brilliantly, never touching the sides and going as straight as a die.